Year 5 Chinese Shadow Puppet Performances

The Year 5 boys performed their final projects drawing on skills studied across art, music, and drama.

Shadow puppetry is considered the oldest form of puppetry in the world. It began 1,000's of years ago in China and India. In China, the shadow plays are often folk-tales and legends of the past, many based on Chinese opera themes. Traditional shadow puppets are flat and made of leather. They are controlled by long rods and moved behind a white translucent screen made from paper r cloth. Contemporary shadow puppets may be made combining a variety of materials including paper, plastic, wood, coloured theatrical lighting filters, cloth, feathers, dried plants or objects ranging from silk scarves to kitchen utensils.